Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Urban Scrawl Inspiration

Husband and I have the best friends in the world. Our in real life group is so understanding of our devastating loss of Blitzkrieg. We got sympathy cards, personal calls, and condolences from an overwhelming number of friends, neighbors, our family vet, and the vet hospital oncology team. Every single one touched our hearts but none so much as Blitzkrieg's oncology nurse. She made and painted a plaster paw print she took of Blitzkrieg for us on her own. Tears I did not know I had welled up inside me when I unwrapped it.

Many of our friends are calling us for spur of the moment dinners and get togethers too. Thank you friends. Keeping busy helps.

That's how Husband and I ended up at Urban Scrawl. One of our couple friends invited us to join them at Urban Scrawl because they know we like local food and arty things.
Urban Scrawl is a local art festival featuring local music, food, and drink at an old glass factory turned artist space. For as much as Husband and I love arty things that color outside the lines, I can't believe this festival has been going on for six years and we just heard about it. Especially when you consider Husband and I go to our monthly Gallery Hop, to museums, and always took Blitzkrieg to the Columbus Arts Festival. Husband and I went for the art. Blitzkrieg went for the dropped food. It was a win win.

The big thing at Urban Scrawl are the murals local artists paint during the festival. They will auction most of the murals off for display in Franklinton Gardens.

There were artists and styles that appealed to everyone. Husband and I gravitated to the more nontraditional art that day.

As much as I enjoy art and co-workers often describe me as arty, I don't think I have artistic talent because I can't draw the images as I picture them in my head. My paternal grandmother was a porcelain artist (Do you want to see her work? Let me know and I'll post it.) My sister inherited that gift from her, not me.

Maybe that's why I like photography, although I consider my photographs documentation, not art. My grandfather, father, and aunt are the photographers. Not me.

You can't buy a patina like this! This room is the living space of my dreams!.

This windows are lovely and amazing with the amount of light they flood the room, but horrifically energy inefficient. The massive heating and cooling bills are what stop me from considering a living space like this. As much as we enjoy not freezing or sweating to death in our home, Husband and I don't want to do it at the expense of frivolous things like groceries.

I felt like I was home.

Before I met Husband, I volunteered at a non profit art gallery called CAGE (Cincinnati Arts Group Effort.) We showed and promoted emerging artists who's work you wouldn't normally see in the big galleries and art museums in the city. So much of the work at Urban Scrawl reminded me of what I saw and experienced with CAGE.

There were crafty things, arty things, and crafty things that are more art than craft for sale. Husband and I are careful with our spending which is why our emergency fund is almost back to where we like to to be. However, after the third or fourth visit to to admire Christine Miller's paintings, we gave in and made a rare impulse purchase.

My favorite is the woman on the right. Husband's favorite is the woman on the left. The artist offered us a deal if we bought both. Look at us being all arts patrony!

Hundreds of paper sculptures hung from the ceiling in this installation.

I always enjoy art with a sense of humor too.

I thought Pat Benetar said hell is for children?

Since we were there being so supportive of local artists, Husband and I felt we should support the local foodies too.

Jamaican jerk chicken goodness!

Looking at works we wouldn't normally see in a sanitized art museum or gallery (although I wish all of the artists success so their work appears in such places to change that) was the best. afternoon. ever.

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